Survey Finds Many Physicians Worry About Getting Sued When Treating Patients
February 04, 2025
The best way to discourage lawsuits is to improve physician communication with the patients, according to the results of a recent survey of U.S. doctors. Still, two-thirds of physicians surveyed reported they worry about liability exposure at least occasionally as they treat or communicate with their patients.
The survey reports about six in 10 physicians have been named in a lawsuit. The most frequent allegations against doctors include:
- 35% failure to diagnose/delayed diagnosis
- 29% complications from treatment/surgery
- 20% failure to treat/delayed treatment
In a related study cited in these survey results, researchers from Johns Hopkins Medicine looked at 15 disease categories and found that vascular events, infections and cancers account for 75% of serious harms from diagnostic errors in the United States. The study’s lead author, David Newman-Toker, M.D., Ph.D., presented a program during ISMIE’s 2023 Risk Management Symposium on diagnostic errors and his experience on improving accuracy and patient outcomes.
The program is available as an on-demand course and offers premium discounts for eligible policyholders. CME is also available.
ISMIE offers many other resources to help policyholders navigate risk mitigation from the importance of clear patient communication to documentation of the medical visit and treatment plans.
Be sure to visit the Litigation Stress Resource Center should you be facing the psychological pressures of a lawsuit.
If you have questions, please contact the Risk Management Division by email.